“We need to make the Gtech a fortress” – Brentford boss Thomas Frank outlines plans ahead of Premier League meeting with West Ham United
Having started the 2024-25 season with three straight home wins in league and cup competitions, Thomas Frank has called on his Brentford side to maintain their impressive home form as they prepare for a visit from West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday.
“We need to make the Gtech a fortress. I’m very pleased that we have started with two wins in the Premier League and one in the cup,” said Frank. “We know when we are on it, and the fans are on it – it needs to be both – it is a difficult place to come,” he added.
Team News
Skipper Christian Nørgaard, who missed last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a “minor injury”, could return against the Hammers, revealed Frank. “It’s going to be a close call,” he said. “He’s been training today and yesterday, so we need to see if he’s ready to start.”
The Bees boss highlighted his side’s poor luck with injuries, saying they had been dealing with the issue for over a year now. “Of course, any coach would love to have every player available, but yeah, it is what is,” he remarked. However, he was able to share positive news on injury absentees Paris Maghoma (ankle) and Rico Henry (knee), both of whom he revealed were close to making a return to action.
The Opponents
Saturday’s opponents West Ham sit 14th in the table, two places below the hosts. With just one league win under their belt, they come into this all-London clash on the back of comprehensive defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool in the league and cup respectively.
Despite their recent run of poor results, Frank was quick to highlight the formidable attacking threat posed by the Hammers. “West Ham have some really top players,” he said. “Their front four – no matter who plays. The signing of [Crysencio] Summerville was very good; I’ve always liked him. “[Michail] Antonio, [Jarrod] Bowen, [Mohammed] Kudus, [Lucas] Paquetá. They have players at the highest level.”
Frank also expressed support for his under-fire counterpart Julen Lopetegui, saying that the level of scrutiny on the Spaniard’s results thus far was far too premature. “You can’t in such a volatile and complex world of football, just rely on five games. We played five games. I know there’s been some cup games also, but that is definitely way too early,” he commented.
Innovative Tactics
Scoring inside 30 seconds of any football match is a remarkable feat on its own, but Brentford have managed to do so in both their previous Premier League encounters. In fact, the Bees found the net 22 seconds after kick-off on both occasions. Carefully crafted or curious coincidence? Frank reveals it to be a bit of both.
“We work on it. No doubt about that. We have a plan. Obviously, we know it’s difficult to score every single time from a kickoff, so partly prepared for it, worked on it, and then probably had that little bit of margin to help us,” he said, adding “We plan how we want to do it, and we have players around where the ball drops, and then then we play from there. Maybe those teams are not ready, ready. I don’t know. We were definitely ready. I think that’s the most important thing.”
At the same time, the Dane acknowledges the element of chance at play. “It’s crazy. It must be a world record. But we also need to win the toss. So if we don’t win that, we can’t do it. So many things that need to go our way. There’s key roles, everyone’s involved, and then we capitalize in the end, but probably also a little bit of margins going our way.”
So, what prompted the team to work on kick-off routines on the training ground? “It was just to make it a little bit different. We are in show business, aren’t we? So we had to do it. We had to do something different because we got a little bit bored of doing the same thing. And that depends a little bit on what the opponents normally do. So that can be tweaked a bit from game to game.”
Frank went on to reveal that the brains behind the operation is set-piece coach Keith Andrews. “He deserves all the credit, but we give ideas to each other. So even when he’s in charge, the other coaches, or me, maybe have an idea. The same with me – I’m the man in charge of the tactics, but they can also give their input to me a lot of times.”
Frank ended by teasing the idea for another audacious set-piece routine. “I have another different trick. I don’t want to do a spoiler alert now, but they are still too scared to do it. I think would be amazing to do it, because if we don’t do it well, it doesn’t look that well on TV, and then these days, it’ll never, never, be forgotten. But on the flip side, imagine the upside if we get success on it. But let’s see in the future. Then, when you ask me about the free kick routine, then I’ll say yes, that was the one.”
Game Management
Despite their electrifying starts, Brentford failed to maintain their lead on both occasions, ending up on the losing side. Frank saw this as a sign of a profligate attack rather than a leaky defence, saying, “Our aim is always to try to score one more goal to get two up. That’s the aim and the philosophy that can be a little bit difficult, especially against any team in the Premier League, but especially, for example, the two sides we faced in City and Tottenham. So the intention was still to try to score, especially at City. We also had two or three other good chances before they equalized. So we definitely had our opportunities, we just didn’t take them.”
36 – Since the start of last season, Brentford have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League (36), while only Manchester City (30) have won more points from behind than Tottenham (28). Contrast. pic.twitter.com/jFoJCZTRrt
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 21, 2024
Would he consider a tactical tweak at the start of the game? “Uh, no. If we can score after 22 seconds tomorrow, I’ll definitely do it – or try to do it,” is the short answer. “
Looking Ahead
Regarding season objectives, Frank said, “We’re playing in the best league in the world and we want to finish as high as possible. I’m happy with the way we’re playing, so as high as possible but a big focus on simply winning the next game.”
